System and method for routing a call to a called party&#39;s landline or wireless communication unit

ABSTRACT

A method and system are provided for routing a call to a called party&#39;s landline or wireless communication unit based on the availability of the wireless communication unit. A call placed to a called party&#39;s landline communication unit is routed to the called party&#39;s wireless communication unit if the wireless communication unit is determined available, otherwise, the call is routed to the called party&#39;s landline communication unit. Unlike past attempts to facilitate communication with a called party having wireless and landline communication units, these preferred embodiments operate automatically (without called party intervention) before a call is terminated at the landline communication unit and are responsive to the availability of the called party&#39;s wireless communication unit. Further, there preferred embodiments do not rely on complex, pre-determined hunting sequences or expensive adjunct customer premises equipment.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/815,965, filed Mar. 23, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,916, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/079,061, filed May14, 1998 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,208,854), each of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to call processing intelecommunication networks and specifically to a system and method forrouting a call to a called party's landline or wireless communicationunit.

BACKGROUND

Many people have a wireless communication unit, such as a cellularphone, in addition to a landline communication unit, such as a hometelephone. While having a home phone and a cellular phone allows aperson to place calls both at and away from home, two phones with uniquephone numbers can make reaching the person difficult. For example, aperson carrying an active cellular phone will miss a call placed to hishome phone.

Several methods have been suggested to facilitate communication withusers having wireless and landline communication units. In one method, auser forwards calls from his home phone to his cellular phone bymanually entering the cellular phone number into a call forwardingservice. After entry of the cellular phone number, all calls to theuser's home phone are forwarded from the home phone to the user'scellular phone, even if the cellular phone is inactive. In anothermethod, if a call placed to a user's home phone is not answered afterseveral rings, the call is transferred to the user's cellular phone.Because the call is transferred typically after four or five rings, somecalling parties, believing that the call will not be answered, hang upbefore the call is transferred. Other methods rely on complex,predetermined hunting sequences or expensive adjunct customer premisesequipment.

There is a need, therefore, for an improved system and method forrouting a call to a called party's landline or wireless communicationunit that will overcome the disadvantages described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a wireless communication unit of apreferred embodiment

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a telecommunication system of a preferredembodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method of a preferred embodiment forautomatically routing a call to a called party's landline or wirelesscommunication unit.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of one preferred embodiment of thetelecommunication system of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method of a preferred embodiment forautomatically routing a call to a called party's landline or wirelesscommunication unit using the telecommunication system of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method of a preferred embodiment fordetermining whether a called party's wireless communication unit isavailable.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

By way of introduction, the preferred embodiments described belowinclude a method and system for routing a call to a called party'slandline or wireless communication unit based on the availability of thewireless communication unit. In one embodiment, a call placed to acalled party's landline communication unit is routed to the calledparty's wireless communication unit, such as a cellular phone 100 (FIG.1), if the wireless communication unit is available. Otherwise, the callis routed to the called party's landline communication unit. Unlike pastattempts to facilitate communication with a called party having wirelessand landline communication units, these preferred embodiments operateautomatically (without called-party intervention) before a call isterminated at the landline communication unit and are responsive to theavailability of the called party's wireless communication unit. Further,there preferred embodiments do not rely on complex, pre-determinedhunting sequences or expensive adjunct customer premises equipment.

Turning again to the drawings, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of atelecommunication system 200 of a preferred embodiment. As shown in FIG.2, a calling party 210 is coupled with a called party's landlinecommunication unit 220 and wireless communication unit 230 throughwireless and landline communication networks 240. As used herein, theterm “coupled with” means directly coupled with or indirectly coupledwith through one or more components. The wireless and landlinecommunication networks 240 comprise computer usable medium having first,second, and third computer readable program codes 250, 260, 270 embodiedtherein. It is important to note that while the program codes 250, 260,270 have been shown as three separate components, their functionalitycan be combined and/or distributed. It is also important to note that“media” is intended to broadly cover any suitable media, analog ordigital, now in use or developed in the future.

The telecommunication system 200 of FIG. 2 can be used in a method forautomatically routing a call to a called party's landline or wirelesscommunication unit, as shown in the flow chart of FIG. 3. When thecalling party 210 places a call to the called party, the first computerreadable program code 250 automatically determines the availability ofthe called party's wireless communication unit 230 (step 310). Inresponse to the called party's wireless communication unit 230 beingdetermined unavailable, the second computer readable program code 260automatically routes the call to the called party's landlinecommunication unit 220 (step 320). In response to the called party'swireless communication unit 230 being determined available, the thirdcomputer readable program code-270 automatically routes the call to thecalled party's wireless communication unit 230 (step 330).

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of one preferred embodiment 400 of thetelecommunication system 200 of FIG. 2. This preferred system 400comprises a landline communication unit 410 coupled with a wirelesscommunication unit 420 through a signal switching point (SSP) 430, atandem switch 440, a signal transfer point (STP) 450, a service controlpoint (SCP) 460, a mobile switching center (MSC) 470, and a homelocation register (HLR) 480. This system 400 embodies an intelligentbridge between components used in wireless and landline networks. TheMSC 470 and the HLR 480 are components used in a wireless network. TheMSC 470 handles switching and routing to the wireless communication unit420, and the HLR 480 is a database that stores information about thelocation of the wireless communication unit 420.

The other components of the system 400 communicate voice and datatraffic and network signaling protocols that control switching of thevoice and data traffic. The SSP 430 is a central office equipped withAdvanced Intelligent Network (AIN) software, which enables the SSP 430to suspend call processing and launch a query to the SCP 460 via the STP450. The SCP 460 handles queries sent from the SSP 430 by communicatingwith HLR 480, although any database that contains the informationdescribed below can be used. Preferably, communication between the SCP460 and the HLR 480 is carried out through a Signaling System 7 (SS7)network using IS-41 Transaction Capabilities Applications Protocol(TCAP) Rev. B protocol. The SSP 430 also communicates voice and datatraffic to the MSC 470 via the tandem switch 440.

In this embodiment, the SSP 430 is associated with the called party'slandline communication unit 410 and receives a call from a callingparty. Because the SSP 430 is associated with the called party, it isreferred to as a terminating SSP. It should be understood that an SSPassociated with the calling party (an originating SSP) can be modifiedto perform the functions described below. It is important to note thatthe SSP 430 can transfer voice and data traffic directly without the useof the tandem switch 440 and can directly transfer network signalingprotocols to the SCP 460 without the use of the STP 450. Also, a centraloffice not equipped with an SSP can be provided with software to sendmessages to the SCP 460 in an AIN-query format. Preferably, the SCP 460utilizes a service order interface to create an automated messageaccount (AMA) billing record to charge for calls that are routed usingthe method described below.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method of a preferred embodiment forautomatically routing a call to a called party's landline or wirelesscommunication unit 410, 420 using the preferred system 400 of FIG. 4.First, the SSP 430 receives the called party's destination number (DN)from the calling party (step 510). In this preferred embodiment, thecalled party's DN is the DN associated with the called party's landlinecommunication unit 410. A terminating attempt trigger (TAT) at the SSP430 recognizes the called party's DN, and the SSP 430 suspends the calland launches a terminating attempt query to the SCP 460 (step 520).Preferably this query follows the form shown in Appendix A.

Next, the SCP 460 determines whether the wireless/landline routingservice is active (step 530). If the wireless/landline routing serviceis deactive the SCP 460 responds to the query from the SSP 430 with amessage authorizing termination to the called party's landlinecommunication unit 410 (preferably in the form shown in Appendix B), andthe SSP 430 routes the call to the landline communication unit 410 (step540). If the wireless/landline call routing service is active, the SCP460 determines whether the calling party is using the wirelesscommunication unit 420 (step 550). This determination can be made, forexample, by analyzing the DN of the calling party identificationparameter in the AIN query. If the calling party is using the wirelesscommunication unit 420, it is preferred that the call be routed to thecalled party's landline communication unit 410 (step 540) to avoidautomatically routing the call back to the wireless communication unit420 itself (i.e., to prevent circular routing).

If the calling party is not using the wireless communication unit 420(or if the SCP 460 cannot make the determination), the SCP 460determines whether the called party's wireless communication unit 420 isavailable (step 560). The preferred execution of this step is shown inthe flow chart of FIG. 6. First, SCP 460 sends a location request to theHLR 480 of the MSC 470 (step 610). It is preferred that the locationrequest follow the form shown in Appendix C. Upon receiving the request,the HLR 480 determines the routing address of the wireless communicationunit 420 and sends a response containing the routing address, ifavailable, to the SCP 460 (step 620). If no response is received by theSCP 460 after an elapsed period of time, the SCP 460 preferablyauthorizes the SSP 430 to terminate the call to the called party'slandline communication unit 410 (step 630). If the response contains therouting address of the wireless communication unit 420 and does notindicate that the wireless communication unit 420 is inactive (e.g., ifthe “access denied” field is populated by any value except “2”(inactive)), the SCP 460 sends a forward call command to the SSP 430(step 640), and the call is routed through the MSC 470 to the wirelesscommunication unit 420 (step 570). A preferred response format from theHLR 480 is shown in Appendix D, and a preferred forward call commandformat is shown in Appendix E.

If the response indicates that the wireless communication unit 420 isnot registered with the HLR 480 or is inactive (see the preferredresponse in Appendix F), the SCP 460 sends the SSP 430 a messageauthorizing termination to the called party's landline communicationunit 410, preferably in the form shown in Appendix G (step 650). The SSP430 then routes the call to the landline communication unit 410 (step540).

It is possible that a call routed to an active wireless communicationunit 420 will go unanswered. Such a call can be handled by the logic inthe MSC 470 (e.g., termination of the call, transfer to voice mail, callforward to another number, etc.). To prevent circular routing of calls,it is preferred that the calling party DN be changed to the DN of thewireless communication unit 420 for calls routed to the wirelesscommunication unit 420. In this way, if, for example, the MSC 470 isprogrammed to forward unanswered calls to the landline communicationunit 410, the automatic landline/routing feature described above willnot re-route the call to the wireless communication unit 420 (see step550 above).

It is also possible that a call routed to an active wirelesscommunication unit 420 will terminate on a busy line. As describedabove, the MSC 470 can transfer such a call to the voice-mail systemassociated with the wireless communication unit 420. A called party,however, may not be aware of the need to check that voice-mail system.To avoid this problem, a unified voice-mail system can be used to handlecalls from both the wireless communication unit 420 and the landlinecommunication unit 410. In this way, a user can check the voice-mailsystem associated with the landline communication unit 410 and receivemessages left by callers who were routed to the wireless communicationunit 420.

In the above-described preferred embodiment, the availability of thewireless communication unit 420 was based on whether the wirelesscommunication unit 420 was active. In an alternative embodiment,availability is additionally based on whether the wireless communicationunit 420 is busy. In this embodiment, the SCP 460 authorizes the SSP 430to route the call to the wireless communication unit 420 only if theunit 420 is both active and not busy.

While the number of the called party's landline communication unit 410was used in the above-described preferred embodiments to trigger aquery, a number not associated with either the called party's landlineor wireless communication unit can be used to trigger the query. Also, aquery can be triggered when a calling party dials the number of thecalled party's wireless communication unit 420. As one example of thisalternative embodiment, a call to the placed wireless communication unit420 can be automatically forwarded by the MSC 470 to the SSP 430, whichlaunches a query as described above. Of course, if a call is placed tothe non-triggering number, the call will be directly connected to thatcommunication unit. For example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG.5, a call to the wireless communication unit 420 will be directlyconnected to that unit 420.

In another alternative embodiment, if a call is routed to thecommunication unit that is not associated with the number called by thecalling party, an indication can be generated by that communicationunit. For example, if a calling party dials a number for the calledparty's landline communication unit and if the call is routed to thecalled party's active wireless communication unit, a distinctive ring,such as a multiple ring, can be generated by the wireless communicationunit. In contrast, a call directly terminated to the wirelesscommunication unit can have a single ring. In this way, a called partycan monitor the ring pattern of a communication unit to determinewhether the incoming call is a direct or routed call. Of course, otherkinds of indications, such as a visual indication, can be generated.

As mentioned in the discussion above with reference to FIG. 5, it ispossible to deactivate the wireless landline call routing service. Oneway of engaging or disengaging the service is through an interactivevoice response (IVR) unit. A called party can disengage the service ifhe does not want to be disturbed by or incur the expense of a routedcall. One way in which to deactivate the wireless/landline call routingservice is to engaging an unconditional call forwarding feature.

As another alternative, the SCP 460 can instruct the SSP 430 to play amessage to the calling party while waiting for a response from the HLR480. This message can alert the calling party that the call is beingprocessed, providing the advantage of alerting the calling party thatthe call is being processed despite a delay, which can occur, forexample, if the called party is roaming between MSCs.

For simplicity, the term “landline communication unit” is intended tobroadly cover any communication unit that receives calls from a callingparty through a physical connection from a main switch point, such as acentral office. Landline communication units include, but are notlimited to home or office telephones, fax machines, and modems. Also forsimplicity, the term “wireless communication unit” is intended tobroadly cover any communication unit that receives calls from a callingparty through a wireless, over-the-air connection. Wirelesscommunication units preferably include, but are not limited to, cellularphones, mobile phone, paging devices, and modems adapted to receivewireless transmissions, although personal communication service (PCS)devices can also be used. Wireless communication units can use anywireless communication technology including, but not limited to, analogwith enhanced registration, time division multiple access (TDMA), codedivision multiple access (CDMA), and global system multiple (GSM)technology, as well as radio, infrared, and satellite transmissions.

It is intended that the foregoing detailed description be understood asan illustration of selected forms that the invention can take and not asa definition of the invention. It is only the following claims,including all equivalents, that are intended to define the scope of thisinvention.

Appendix A

-   -   AIN Query:        -   Termination Attempt        -   Called Party ID—Called Number        -   Lata—LATA ID        -   Calling Party ID—Calling Number (if available)        -   Original Called Party ID (if available)        -   Redirected Party ID (if available)        -   Redirection Information (if available)

Appendix B

-   -   AIN Response        -   Auth_Term        -   CallingPartyID=Calling Number (if available)        -   CalledPartyID=Landline Number (as dialed)

Appendix C

-   -   IS-41 INVOKE:        -   LOCREQ        -   Digits(dialed)        -   MSCID        -   SystemMyTypeCode        -   Billing ID

Appendix D

-   -   IS-41 RETURN RESULT:        -   locreq        -   MSCID        -   MIN        -   MSD        -   Digits—Routing Address

Appendix E

-   -   AIN Response:        -   Forward Call        -   CallingPartyID=Calling Number (if available)        -   CallingPartyID=Wireless Number        -   Primary Carrier        -   AMAAlernatBillingNumber=Wireless Number        -   AMAslpID=value from wireless service provider

Appendix F

-   -   IS-41 RETURN RESULT:        -   locreq        -   MSCID        -   MIN        -   MSD        -   AccessDeniedReason=2 (inactive)

Appendix G

-   -   AIN Response:        -   Auth_Term

1. A method for routing a call to a called party's landline or wirelesscommunication unit, said method comprising the steps of: (a)automatically determining an availability of a called party's wirelesscommunication unit; then (b) automatically routing a call to a calledparty's landline communication unit in response to the called party'swireless communication unit being determined unavailable in step (a);and (c) automatically routing the call to the called party's wirelesscommunication unit in response to the called party's wirelesscommunication unit being determined available in step (a).
 2. The methodof claim 1 further comprising the step of automatically routing the callto the called party's landline communication unit in response to acalling party using the called party's wireless communication unit. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) comprises the step ofautomatically determining an availability of a called party's wirelesscommunication unit in response to receiving, from a calling party, adestination number associated with the called party's landlinecommunication unit.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) comprisesthe step of automatically determining an availability of a calledparty's wireless communication unit in response to receiving, from acalling party, a destination number associated with the called party'swireless communication unit.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a)comprises the step of automatically determining an availability of acalled party's wireless communication unit in response to receiving,from a calling party, a destination number independent of a numberassociated with either the called party's wireless or landlinecommunication unit.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) comprisesthe step of (a1) sending a location request to a home location register;and (a2) analyzing a response to the location request.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein step (b) comprises the step of automatically routing acall to a called party's landline communication unit in response to thecalled party's wireless communication unit being determined inactive,and wherein step (c) comprises the step of automatically routing thecall to the called party's wireless communication unit in response tothe called party's wireless communication unit being determined active.8. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) comprises the step ofautomatically routing a call to a called party's landline communicationunit in response to the called party's wireless communication unit beingdetermined busy, and wherein step (c) comprises the step ofautomatically routing the call to the called party's wirelesscommunication unit in response to the called party's wirelesscommunication unit being determined not busy.
 9. The method of claim 1further comprising the step of providing the called party's wirelesscommunication unit with an indication that a call is automatically beingrouted to the called party's wireless communication unit.
 10. The methodof claim 1 further comprising the step of providing the called party'swireless communication unit with a distinctive ring in response toautomatically routing the call to the called party's wirelesscommunication unit.
 11. The method of claim 1 further comprising thestep of playing a message to a calling party before the call isautomatically routed.
 12. The method of claim 1 further comprising thestep of using an interactive voice response system to disableperformance of steps (a)–(c).
 13. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising the step of using a voice-mail system to receive messagesfrom the landline communication unit and the wireless communicationunit.
 14. A system for routing a call to a called party's landline orwireless communication unit, said system comprising: first means forautomatically determining an availability of a called party's wirelesscommunication unit; second means for automatically routing a call to acalled party's landline communication unit in response to the calledparty's wireless communication unit being determined unavailable; andthird means for automatically routing the call to the called party'swireless communication unit in response to the called party's wirelesscommunication unit being determined available.
 15. A system for routinga call to a landline or wireless communication unit, said systemcomprising: a service control point operative to automatically determinean availability of said wireless communication unit in response to aquery; and a signal switching point coupled with the service controlpoint, the signal switching point being operative to send said query tothe service control point, automatically route a call to said landlinecommunication unit in response to said wireless communication unit beingdetermined unavailable, and automatically route a call to said wirelesscommunication unit in response to said wireless communication unit beingdetermined available.
 16. The invention of claim 15 further comprising adatabase, coupled with the service control point, comprisingavailability information of said wireless communication unit.
 17. Theinvention of claim 16, wherein the database comprises a home locationregister.
 18. The invention of claim 15, wherein the signal switchingpoint is operative to automatically route a call to said landlinecommunication unit in response to said wireless communication unit beingdetermined inactive and operative to automatically route a call to saidwireless communication unit in response to said wireless communicationunit being determined active.
 19. The invention of claim 15, wherein thesignal switching point is operative to automatically route a call tosaid landline communication unit in response to said wirelesscommunication unit being determined busy and operative to automaticallyroute a call to said wireless communication unit in response to saidwireless communication unit being determined not busy.
 20. The inventionof claim 15, wherein the signal switching point is operative to sendsaid query to the service control point in response to receiving adestination number of said landline communication unit.
 21. Theinvention of claim 15, wherein the signal switching point is furtheroperative to provide said wireless communication unit with an indicationthat a call is automatically being routed to the called party's wirelesscommunication unit.
 22. The invention of claim 15, wherein the signalswitching point is further operative to play a message to a callingparty while awaiting a response from the service control point.
 23. Theinvention of claim 15 further comprising a voice-mail system coupledwith the signal switching point and operative to receive messages fromsaid landline communication unit and said wireless communication unit.24. The invention of claim 15 further comprising an interactive voiceresponse system coupled with the signal switching point and operative todeactivate a transmission of said query to the service control point.25. A computer usable medium having computer readable program codeembodied therein for routing a call to a called party's landline orwireless communication unit, the computer readable program codecomprising: first computer readable program code for automaticallydetermining an availability of a called party's wireless communicationunit; second computer readable program code for automatically routing acall to a called party's landline communication unit in response to thecalled party's wireless communication unit being determined unavailable;and third computer readable program code for automatically routing thecall to the called party's wireless communication unit in response tothe called party's wireless communication unit being determinedavailable.